


I Like You Like That

by awriterofthings



Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:41:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28230321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awriterofthings/pseuds/awriterofthings
Summary: Panam and V finally confess their feelings for each other.
Relationships: Panam Palmer/Female V
Comments: 4
Kudos: 209





	I Like You Like That

Panam was in her tent pulling on her jacket when she heard Mitch calling to her from outside. “Yeah, give me a minute.” She quickly made sure her hair was okay and grabbed her phone to shoot V a quick text to let her know that she was still on her way. She pulled the flap of her tent back and saw Carol and Mitch. “What’s up?”

“Going scavenging,” Mitch explained. “Figured you might want to join.”

Panam stepped out of the tent. “I need to go into the city. V’s waiting on me.” At Mitch’s smirk and Carol’s headshake, Panam’s brows furrowed. “What?”

“You and V been spending a lot of time together,” Mitch answered. 

“She’s a good friend,” Panam stated. “Is that a problem?”

“A friend?” Carol asked, obviously amused. She looked to Mitch. “You cuddle with all your friends, Mitch?”

“Can’t say that I do.”

Panam rolled her eyes as one of her hands went up to rest on her hip. “If you have something to say, then say it.”

“I think we have,” Carol said. “You like V.”

“In a romantic way,” Mitch added.

Panam scoffed. “You’re both being complete gonks, do you know that? I’m meeting up with V because she knows where I can get the spare part I need for my rig. Besides, she’s an Aldecaldo now; she’s family. We’ll obviously see a lot of each other.”

“We all love having V around,” Mitch assured her. “We’re just pointing out that you love having V around a little more than everyone else. She makes you smile and we like seeing you happy.”

Panam immediately began to turn red. “There aren’t any… romantic… feelings or whatever it is you’re both going on about.”

“Panam-,”

“No, we’re not having this conversation,” Panam said with finality.

Mitch held up his hands in mock surrender. “Okay, we won’t bring it up again.”

“Preem.” Panam gestured to her vehicle. “I’ve got to run.”

“Tell V we say hi,” Mitch said as Panam escaped the uncomfortable conversation.

V was sitting at the bar talking to Pepe when she glanced at the door for the umpteenth time since getting there. She heard a chuckle from behind her and turned on the stool to see Mama Welles. “What?”

“This woman you’re waiting for,” Mama Welles began. “She’s special to you?”

“Oh, uh… she’s just a friend,” V answered, sheepishly.

“That’s not what I asked.”

V ran a hand through her hair and quickly spoke. “Yeah, she’s special to me.”

Mama Welles smiled and moved to sit on the stool beside V. “Tell me about her.”

V smiled, not needing any more prompting to talk about Panam. “She’s a good friend. Loyal. That’s hard to come by, you know? And I feel comfortable around her— like I don’t have to have my walls up all the time. It’s nice to be around someone and feel safe. After Jackie…,” V took a deep breath. “I didn’t think I could have a friend like that again.”

Mama Welles reached out to squeeze V’s hand gently. “It’s more than that, though, isn’t it?”

V grabbed her beer and took a sip before glancing to where Pepe was serving another customer at the other end of the bar. She didn’t want everyone hearing her personal business. “She doesn’t feel the same,” she said, quietly, picking at the label on her bottle.

“She told you that?”

“Not in so many words, no.” V sipped her beer again. “I’ve hinted at wanting more but either she’s ignoring me or it’s going over her head. But anyway, she’s important to me soI don’t want to ruin things with feelings.”

“Well, I can’t wait to meet her nonetheless,” Mama Welles said. The door to the bar opened and an unfamiliar woman stepped inside. “Doesn’t look like I’ll have to wait much longer.”

V glanced towards the door and stood up to greet Panam. “Hey, did you get here okay?”

“Yeah, sorry I’m late,” Panam began. “Hope you weren’t waiting long.”

“No, not at all,” V answered, which caused Mama Welles to let out a chuckle. She gave the woman a “please, don’t embarrass me” look before introducing her to Panam. “This is Guadalupe.”

Mama Welles waved V off. “Why so formal?” She asked before looking to Panam. “It’s Mama Welles.”

Panam smiled. “Jackie’s mother? I’ve heard great things about you and your son. I wish I could’ve met him.”

Mama Welles smiled. “V has nothing but good things to say about you as well. I’m glad to know she’s keeping such good company. Mama Welles stood from the stool. “Have a seat. Drinks are on the house.”

“Mama Welles,” V began.

“Enjoy it,” Mama Welles cut her off before her attention was drawn away by an argument on the other side of the bar. She muttered something in Spanish and looked at the two apologetically. “I must see to these fools. Don’t forget to say bye before you leave, V.”

“Of course,” V assured her before she walked away. “Thanks, Mama Welles.”

“Yeah, thank you,” Panam added before sitting down.

Pepe moved over to the two. “V,” he began. “This your lady?”

V’s eyes widened slightly. “She’s-,”

“What’s such a pretty lady doing with you?” Pepe joked, good-naturedly. “No wonder you want to leave the city.”

“Shut up, Pepe,” V huffed.

Pepe laughed and looked to Panam. “You’re gonna have your hands full with this one.” He grabbed a beer and placed it down in front of Panam before looking to V. “Want another?”

V shook her head. “I’m fine. Can you grab that car part now?”

“All right, all right,” Pepe said, knowing V was trying to get him to go away.

“Sorry about him,” V said after Pepe disappeared through the back door. “I’ll set him straight.”

Panam picked up her beer. “Don’t worry about it.” She nodded towards the door Pepe just disappeared behind. “How much do I owe you for the part?”

“Nothing. Pepe owed me a favor.”

“And you’re using that favor on me?” Panam asked, surprised.

“Can’t have your ride falling apart on you,” V stated. “It’s no big deal.”

Panam stared at V for a moment. It always caught her off guard how kind the woman was without wanting anything from her in return. She leaned over and nudged V’s shoulder with her own. “Thanks, V.”

V smiled, happy to do anything for Panam. “I’ll always be here for you, Pan,” she stated.

Panam’s heart stuttered in her chest at the words and she quickly sipped her beer to calm the nerves she was suddenly feeling. She was relieved when the door opened again and Pepe returned with a medium-sized box.

“Here it is.” Pepe set the box on the counter and Panam took a look inside, examining the part for a moment. “This is perfect,” she said, pleased. “Thanks,” she said to Pepe.

“No problem,” Pepe said. “V, don’t be a stranger, choom,” he said before moving to check on the other patrons.

“Guess you’ll want to get that taken care of sooner rather than later?”

Panam shook her head. “No, it can wait. I like it here.”

V smiled and called to Pepe for another beer.

Panam laughed as V told her a story of when she was with the Bakkers. The two were now in the back of the bar sitting on a leather couch where they had been for at least three hours now. “That’s wild. And I thought the Aldecaldos got up to some crazy stuff.”

V was warm and it had little to do with the alcohol. Panam was sitting close and the proximity had her mind swimming. She took in the brunette’s laughter and it made her smile. “I like when you do that,” she said, trying not to slur her words.

Panam quirked a brow. “Do what?”

“Laugh,” V answered before finishing off her beer. “It’s a beautiful sound.” V reached for the pitcher of beer on the table in front of them but Panam placed a hand over hers, pulling it away from the pitcher. 

“I think you’ve hit your max,” Panam stated. “You’re speaking nonsense.”

“No,” V said, drunkenly. “Not nonsense.” She reached out to trace Panam’s bottom lip with her thumb. “Everything about you is beautiful, Panam.”

Panam felt a weird feeling in her stomach as her heartbeat sped up. She brought her hand up to wrap it gently around V’s wrist. “Definitely one too many for you,” she said, trying not to read much into what V was saying. She moved V’s hand away and looked at the time. “Damn, time sure did get away from us.” Panam finished off the water she had switched to drinking about an hour ago. “Let’s delta. You still have that apartment of yours?”

“Yeah, but it’s pretty much empty there now.”

Panam stood and pulled V to her feet. “That’s fine. I just need to get you to bed.” Panam’s cheeks reddened as she thought of how that sounded. “You’re wasted off your ass and need to sleep it off,” she clarified.

“Mama Welles,” V called as she swayed on her feet.

Mama Welles approached and shook her head, amused. She had a feeling V had only gotten to this state trying to deal with her feelings for Panam. She looked to the other woman. “You’ll make sure she stays out of trouble?”

“I won’t leave her side,” Panam promised.

“I can take care of myself,” V stated.

Panam rolled her eyes but a smile pulled at her lips. “You can barely stand, you gonk.”

Mama Welles chuckled and gave V and Panam each a hug. “You two come back in the morning for breakfast.”

“Thanks, Mama Welles,” Panam said before moving to pick up the box with her car part. “We’ll see you in the morning.”

As Panam drove, she could feel V staring at her. She glanced over at the woman and smiled. “Why are you staring?”

“Just… cause.”

“Just cause, huh?” Panam turned down the radio. “Wanna try again with a less gonk answer?”

V sighed and turned her head to look out the window.

“Didn’t say I minded you staring at me,” Panam said. Her grip tightened on the steering wheel after the words left her. She wasn’t used to talking like this and she didn’t want to say something stupid. “I had fun today… with you.”

V smiled as she kept her gaze toward the window. “I did too. I like spending time with you.” V looked at Panam once more. “I, uh… missed you pretty bad.” It had been a little over a week since they’d seen each other while she was squaring things away in Night City before she officially left with Panam and the Aldecaldos.

Panam began to panic. She didn’t know how to do this. These new feelings and emotions that V evoked in her actually scared her a bit. “Oh, well, this means… wait, just wait— this is not how we usually talk.”

“And we don’t have to if you don’t want to,” V assured her. She rubbed her hands over her face in an attempt to sober up. “I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t apologize, V. How about we have this conversation when you’re sober, okay?”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” V turned her head back towards the window, wishing she had another drink.

Panam entered V’s place and chuckled as the other woman kicked off her boots before crashing onto the couch. “You can have the bed,” V muttered.

“I’m not going to kick you out of your bed,” Panam said as she moved to V’s fridge. “We can share.” She was relieved to see a few bottles of water and grabbed two. “You should down this before you go to sleep.” She moved to the couch and nudged V with her foot until the woman reluctantly sat up. “Don’t be grumpy. This will help you be less of a mess in the morning.”

V took the bottle. “Thanks.” She opened it and gulped the water down. “I have spare clothes here still if you wanted to take a shower.”

Panam nodded and drank some of her water before getting up. “Spare towel?”

V stood up and gathered a towel and washcloth for Panam. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

Panam took the items, letting her hand graze V’s as she did so. “This is good, thanks.” A shower would help her clear her mind and maybe she’d know what the hell she was doing by the time she was done.

Once Panam was in the shower, V groaned. “Jackie,” she whispered. “I wish you were here to tell me what the hell to do.” Sighing, she pulled out gym shorts and a t-shirt for Panam to slip on. She placed them on the bed and moved to sit back on the couch so she could read through the messages she had received while she was at the bar. She saw one from Mama Welles and opened it.

_Mama Welles[9:05pm]: Just tell the woman how you feel, V. Life’s too short to waste it wondering._

Minutes passed while V sat there rereading the message until the bathroom door opened, bringing her attention to Panam in a towel. She cleared her throat and stood up. “You can put those on,” she gestured to the bed. “I’ll, uh… go shower now.”

Panam had barely gotten her ‘thanks’ out before V was in the bathroom. Panam smiled at V’s behavior and moved towards the bed to change into the clothes. Once dressed, she got onto the bed to wait for V.

Panam’s eyes fluttered open as she heard movement and she saw V settling down on the couch. “Hey, the bed’s plenty big. Get over here.”

V froze for a moment before turning to look at Panam. “Thought you were sleeping. I didn’t want to wake you.”

Panam patted the empty space of the bed and V made her way over. She slowly got onto the mattress and laid down on her back. Panam rolled her eyes as she propped her head up with her hand. “You look as stiff as a board. Relax, V.”

_Now or never._ V thought. “Panam…” she looked away from the ceiling to look at the object of her affection. “I’m pretty sober now if you want to have that conversation.”

Silence hung between them for a long moment and V was about to change the subject when Panam finally spoke.

“I would not want to cock this up. The thing is, I usually act before I think, but with you I find myself playing it safe.”

“What makes me different?” V asked.

“I fear I’ll do or say something foolish – and be left alone in the desert. I would rather keep you close, if only as a friend.”

“I don’t scare off that easily, Panam,” V assured her. “And I understand how you feel. I have those same fears.” V reached for Panam’s hand and linked their fingers together. “I don’t want to mess this up either. Our friendship is important to me, but I also don’t want to ignore what we could be.”

“I don’t want to ignore it anymore either,” Panam agreed.

V felt like a weight had been lifted off of her. “So… we’re doing this?”

Panam smiled. “I suppose we are. That was a lot easier than I expected it to be.”

V brought Panam’s hand close to her mouth and pressed a gentle kiss to it. “You don’t have to be afraid with me, Panam. I’m attracted to who you are— spontaneous or not.”

Panam leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss to V’s lips. “Good to know. We should get some sleep.”

V got up to turn off the lights before getting back into bed.

“Fancy place like this and you don’t have voice activated lights? You’ve been ripped off.”

V laughed as she returned to the bed. “Good thing I’m gone after this week, then.” V hesitantly placed a hand on Panam’s side. “Is this okay?”

Panam moved closer to V and let out a hum of approval as V put her arm around her for a proper cuddle. “Night, V.”

“Goodnight, Pan.”

V felt a pillow drop onto her face and pulled it away as she sat up with a frown. She blinked a few times to gain her bearings before seeing Panam nearby, pulling on her boots. “We have a breakfast to go enjoy with Mama Welles and I’m dying to get that part into my rig.”

V smiled at the sight of Panam. “How’d you sleep?”

Panam returned the smile. “Very well. Now move your ass, V.”

V stood to stretch out her limbs. “I slept well, too, thanks for asking. Best sleep I’ve had in my entire life. I don’t even have that much of a hangover.”

Panam laughed. “I am preem company,” she joked before tossing V’s clothes at her. “Get dressed or I’m leaving without you.”

V gathered up her clothes that had fallen at her feet before heading into the bathroom. She felt happier than she had in a while despite the ticking time bomb that was her life. She quickly brushed her teeth and noticed the spare toothbrush she kept in the bathroom had been opened. Smiling, she exited the bathroom and looked to Panam. “You used my spare toothbrush.”

Panam frowned. “Is that a problem?”

“Nope, it’s just very relationship-y. It’s nice.”

Panam rolled her eyes but there was a playfulness about it. “It’s a toothbrush, V.”

“It’s symbolic,” V pointed out. “It shows how far we’ve come.”

“Are you going to be this weird about us the entire day?”

V nodded. “Most definitely.”

Panam pulled V in by her shirt and placed a kiss on her lips. She lingered there for a moment before V’s tongue ran across her bottom lip, deepening the kiss. Panam backed V up against the wall, pressing their bodies together causing a moan to escape V. V placed her hands on either side of Panam’s waist in order to flip their positions and her hands caressed the bare skin revealed through Panam’s top. After a few more moments, they broke away for air.

“You are very good at that,” V breathed out.

Panam smirked. “You’re not so bad yourself. Now let’s go.” She caught V by the hand and tugged her out of the apartment. “Just so you know, the camp’s full of nosy gossips. We’ll be the talk of camp for at least a few days once people find out.”

“That’s okay with me if it’s okay with you. We don’t have to tell anyone if you don’t want to.”

“We don’t have to hide anything. I was just warning you.” Once they reached Panam’s vehicle, they got inside and Panam looked to V instead of starting up the engine. “Hey, what you said yesterday… about always being here for me.”

“I meant that,” V said, not wanting Panam to think it was just a drunken moment.

“I know. I just wanted you to know that goes both ways.”

“You’ve more than proven that,” V reminded her. “I’m just sorry you had to lose another person because of me.”

“Hey, none of that. Saul wouldn’t want you blaming yourself. You’re family. And we always look out for family.”

Family. The hustle and bustle of Night City didn’t leave room for that, but now with this new chapter in her life, she was returning to her roots with the nomads and looking forward to what life had in store for her. She would fight what was going on in her head and find a way to have many years with Panam. “Let’s finish up in the city so we can get home.”

Panam started up the engine. “Sounds good to me, V.”


End file.
